The Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer decided Tuesday to stop daily briefings
on the condition of former prime minister Ariel Sharon.
As soon as
Sharon’s condition changes, a press conference would be convened immediately,
the hospital told the media. “The decision does not imply that his condition has
stabilized,” hospital spokesman Amir Marom said.
In the most recent
briefing from hospital director Ze’ev Rotstein Monday morning, he said Sharon’s
vital organs were continuing to deteriorate, though his heartbeat and blood
pressure had returned to normal. His condition did not change on Tuesday, and
the 85-year-old remains in critical condition with his life at
risk.
Politicians have been careful to not criticize Sharon since his
condition deteriorated last week. But Bayit Yehudi head Naftali Bennett appeared
to do just that in a Tuesday speech at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for
National Strategic Studies.
“I hear the expression ‘tough decisions
[regarding the current negotiations with the Palestinians],’” Bennett said. “It
was an easy decision to implement the disengagement [from the Gaza Strip in
2005] and throw 8,000 people out of their homes...”
Just last week,
Bennett urged his constituents to focus on the positive achievements in Sharon’s
career. “Certainly there are many of us (myself included) with great anger about
the expulsion of 8,000 Gush Katif residents from their homes,” Bennett wrote on
his official Facebook page. “But during these hours, while Sharon is fighting
for his life, we should remember his merits.”
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